Special K

In an attempt to keep the writing spirit burning hot, I'm not waiting to write the next blog post. The K's went really quick, partly due to the fact that the K's only featured seventeen artists compared to the J's twenty seven. Having fewer artists doesn't always mean that the playlist will be shorter than the previous, but it is the case here. The K's were just under twelve hours of music, and the J's were about nineteen and a half hours of music. The majority of the artists featured in the K's contribute at least one album to the playlist, with just over half of the artists having at least one full album on the playlist. The K's started off really well for me, because they started with a band that I've been enjoying for a little while now.

The K's are started off by The Kaiser Chiefs, and Indie Rock band out of England. The band has released three full length albums to date, and gained popularity almost immediately after the release of their debut album Employment in 2005. Employment sold over three million copies, and launched the band into the eyes of the mainstream. The album featured on this playlist is their third album, Off With Their Heads. There are also two of the singles from Employment featured here, "I Predict A Riot" and "Everyday I Love You Less And Less." Kaiser Chiefs play a brand of upbeat keyboard infused rock and roll. The guitar sound is a lot cleaner sounding then most rock bands, with a lot less distortion than some of their rock contemporaries. The keyboard comes in and out of the songs, usually providing some electronic or synthesized accompaniment to the main body of the song. Rick Wilson's vocals add the finishing touch. He sings with a very pronounced British accent, unlike some of his British contemporaries who attempt to downplay their accents. His voice fits very well with the style of the music, and it's hard to imagine anyone else singing for this band. I was first introduced to The Kaiser Chiefs by my older brother when he gave me the songs "I Predict A Riot" and "Everyday I Love You Less And Less." I like those songs quite a bit, but for a long time I never really looked any deeper into the band. I heard the single "Ruby" off of their second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob back in 2007, but again I didn't look any further. Then in 2008 they released Off With Their Heads. I was listening to the new music that had just come into the radio station and I came across the album, and I really liked what I heard. The music is just a whole lot of fun, and the first single off of the album "Never Miss A Beat" is a fun song to play on Guitar Hero. Kaiser Chiefs took a hiatus for a while, but a new album should be coming out soon and I look forward to it. In the mean time, I will start getting more into their first two albums. The Kaiser Chiefs are a definite recommendation, especially to fans of bands like Bloc Party and other British Indie bands.

Kaiser Chiefs "Never Miss A Beat"



The artist who follows The Kaiser Chiefs is one of the most controversial rappers of 2010, where he was constantly harangued by media critics. I'm speaking of course of Kanye West. Kanye West started his career as a producer, gaining fame for his production of Jay-Z's The Blueprint. His fame continued to grow as he continued to produce hit tracks for the top R&B and Hip Hop artists. Kanye had aspirations beyond being just a producer, and in 2004 he released his debut album The College Dropout to critical acclaim. The album launched him from the fringe of the mainstream right into the spotlight, and his ego was ready for it. Beyond the album, Kanye began to make a name for himself through his braggadocios nature. The next year West released his follow up album Late Registration, once again to critical acclaim and a platinum record. Late Registration put him even further into the public eye with its singles, "Gold Digger," "Heard Em' Say," and "Touch The Sky." The song "Gold Digger" heavily sampled Ray Charles' "Gold Digger" and the video heavily featured Jamie Fox as Ray Charles. He faced his first big controversy in 2005 when during a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina he went off script and declared "George Bush doesn't care about black people," on National Television. Two years later he released his third album Graduation, and like the two before it the album went platinum. The single "Stronger" received heavy rotation on MTV. The song heavily samples Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and the music video is based off of the famous anime Akira. In 2008 as auto tune started gaining popularity in rap and pop music, West released his fourth album, 808 Heartbreak. The album, which featured no rapping, featured West singing with auto tuned vocals. In 2010 he released what many critics declared to be his masterpiece in My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy. West's music traditionally features a lot of samples from classic soul artists, but has grown to include other influences as he's gone along. His songs are usually about money, women, or himself. That is part of the problem for me. He's a good musician, his albums are good but his personality gets in the way of me truly liking him. His singles are great, and the albums are solid but his boasting gets a little old after a while. If Kanye talked a little less about Kanye it would be a whole lot better. He's good but not somebody I listen to a lot.

Kanye West "Stronger"



After two long paragraphs and two artists with large contributions, we have Karsh Kale. Karsh Kale is an Indian American musician who mixes traditional Indian music with American house and techno music. The two songs featured here come via the music samples from Windows Vista. The songs feature an interesting mix of traditional Indian drums mixed with a pulsing techno beat. I hadn't listened to the songs featured here before this blog. I didn't know who Karsh Kale was, and I usually just skip the music that comes with Windows because I usually don't like it. The songs featured here are a very interesting mix, and enjoyable. I just probably won't be coming back to them anytime soon.

Following Karsh Kale on the playlist is one and done artist Kate Bush. Kate Bush is a British Singer/Songwriter who gained fame in the 1980's and became one of the best selling female acts in British history. The song featured here, "Running Up That Hill," comes to the playlist via Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The 80's Underground. The song features a trotting beat that stays constant through the entirety of the song, with electronics/keyboards mixed overtop. It's style is similar to the popular 80's New Wave movement. Bush has a beautiful voice that really helps make the track more than just another New Wave track. I wasn't familiar with Kate Bush before the box set, and I hadn't listened to this song since my initial listen. It's an interesting song, but not something I'll come back to a lot. If I ever need music for an 80's themed party though, this would be a good addition to the mix. If you liked Bat For Lashes, you might like Kate Bush.

Coming after Kate Bush we have another band who despite contributing a full album I know nothing about. The Key Party came to my iTunes via my younger brother's backed up iTunes being stored on my external hard drive. According to the notes featured on CD Baby for the album Hit or Miss (the album featured on my playlist), the band started as a concept by band leader Darren Gains. According to the notes Gains took inspiration from the idea of a key party in which people gather together and put their keys in a bowl, two sets of keys are drawn and the owners of the keys go off together and have sex. Instead of keys he put different musical concepts that came to mind into a bowl and picked them out. The main concept featured on this album is that there are no drums on the entire album. The rest of the album is a mix of acoustic and electric guitar with some horns thrown in. Gains singing is in a style similar to Tom Waits, it's got that same croon to it. I wasn't familiar with The Key Party before this blog, and the album was interesting. It is an interesting concept for a band, and I applaud Gains for trying something new. I enjoy the music, but I don't think it is something I would listen to with any kind of consistency.

The Key Party



One of the largest contributors of tracks on the playlist come next, The Killers. The Killers are a rock band out of Las Vegas, Nevada who gained fame in 2004 with the release of their debut album Hot Fuss. The band plays a synthesizer heavy brand of dance rock driven by the vocals of Brandon Flowers. Songs such as "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It," and "Somebody Told Me" became huge pop hits. The songs feature traditional rock rhythms infused with synth lines and punctuated by Flowers' croon and shout vocals. Since gaining notice and fame in 2004 the band has become one of the largest mainstream rock bands of the past decade. The bands first two albums Hot Fuss and Sam's Town both went platinum and their third album Day & Age went Gold. The band really knows how to write a catchy pop song, and their albums have a lot of catchy pop tunes to choose from. Some of my favorites have to be the three previously mentioned along with songs like "When You Were Young," "Human," and "Spaceman." The band show's it's influence from 80's synth pop in its music, but it shows its inspiration to artists like Elton John in its fashion. The videos for "Human" and "Spaceman" feature Flowers wearing outfits with lots of feathers attached to the shoulder pads. I first heard The Killers with the release of Hot Fuzz and the radio play that followed. I purchased the album and enjoyed it quite a bit. I went on to add their next two albums to my iTunes as well. They're a really fun pop rock band, and a great listen when you need up beat motivating music.

The Killers "Spaceman"



Starting out a string of three one and done artists is Killing Joke. Killing Joke were an English rock band that formed in England at the tail end of the 1970's. The band played a musical style that many have described as an early version of Industrial music. The band featured a sound similar to post punk, but with a few more electronic touches. The main focus of the music is the guitar, drums and bass just like most bands, but there are tinges of electronic instrumentation in the background. What really stands out in this band is Jeremy Coleman's vocals. The vocals sound very electronic and sound very computerized. I'm not a big fan of the vocals. I hadn't listened to this song much before this blog, maybe only once or twice when I was listening to Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The 80's Underground. I haven't missed it, I'm not a fan of this song. It almost seems like it could be a song from the Industrial Tribute to Metallica compilation. Skip this song unless you're a fan of Industrial Music.

After Killing Joke we have Killswitch Engage covering the Heavy Metal classic "Holy Diver." The song "Holy Diver" was originally performed and made famous by Ronnie James Dio, a Heavy Metal legend who lent his amazing voice to bands such as Black Sabbath and Rainbow before going solo with his own band. Killswitch Engage are a Metalcore band out of Massachusetts who are credited as a founding band of the Metalcore movement. As previously stated this track is a cover of "Holy Diver," but not a very good one. The band does their best to stay true to the original, but there is no comparing to the original. This cover is alright up until the point where it goes into the guttural growl that unnecessarily permeates most of main stream metal today. I don't like that vocal style a good 95% of the time, and this is one of those times. That ruins what was a decent cover.

The third one and done artist of this block is Kimmie Rhodes. Kimmie Rhodes is a singer songwriter from Texas who was written songs for some of country music's biggest names, from Willie Nelson to Waylon Jennings. The song featured here is a duet with Willie Nelson off of one of her fifteen solo CD's. The song is a tender love ballad with Nelson and Rhodes picking on their acoustic guitars. The song features the two urging "love me like a song." It's a very beautiful and simple song. I wasn't familiar with Kimmie Rhodes before this blog, and I hadn't heard this track before. I believe it either got on my iTunes as a part of the music samples provided by Windows Vista or as a song put on my iTunes by my older brother for his wedding celebration party. I like the track, it's a tender acoustic ballad. I probably won't come back to it, but I'll enjoy it when it comes up if I'm listening to my iPod on shuffle.

Our next artist on the K's is The Kings of Leon. The Kings of Leon are a rock band out of Tennessee who despite forming in 1999 didn't achieve international commercial success until the release of their fourth album Only By The Night in 2008. The band plays a country and blues infused brand of rock and roll, often called Southern Rock. This sound has gradually evolved more towards the alternative arena rock side of rock and roll, but there are still Southern Rock influences apparent. The band gained minor attention in the states in 2003 when they released the song "Molly's Chamber" as a single off of their debut album Youth And Young Manhood. The album gained huge attention in the United Kingdom, but very little in The United States. They released two more albums, again with great success in the United Kingdom but very little in the United States. It wasn't until the release of Only By The Night that the band broke through. The single "Sex On Fire" is the one that helped them break through, and the follow up single "Use Somebody" solidified their mainstream status. I first heard Kings of Leon back in 2003 when I heard the song "Molly's Chamber," but like the rest of America I didn't pay much attention to them. Then in 2008 I came across Only By The Night in the stack of new music for the radio station where as Program Director I listened to all incoming music. I really liked the album, it was really catchy. I added the album to my collection and continued to enjoy it. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I began to see them blowing up. I had stopped listening to alternative rock radio a few years back, so I hadn't heard "Sex On Fire" or "Use Somebody" before I got the album in for the radio station. I really enjoy their catchy alternative rock with a country twang, I've considered exploring the rest of their discography, but there was usually something I wanted more at the time. I'm not sure if I'll explore their discography, but I'll enjoy what I have heard until then.

Kings of Leon "Sex On Fire"



Next we have a one and done artist, The Kingsmen. The Kingsmen are a one and done artist in two different senses, they only have one song on this playlist and they only had one hit song. The Kingsmen gained fame in 1963 with the release of their cover of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie." The song is in the garage rock style of the 1960's. The song's arrangement is probably one of the most well known in music, almost everybody knows the opening guitar line and the keyboard infused garage rock of the song. One thing most people aren't familiar with about the song is what the actual lyrics to the song are besides "Louie, Louie." Lead singer Jack Ely's vocals are so unintelligible that people believed the lyrics were dirty, the confusion caused the song to be banned by the State of Indiana. This gained the song even greater popularity with the public. Today the song is so widespread that there is hardly a person born in the last forty years who doesn't know "Louie Louie." I've heard the song probably hundreds of times over the years, and it's always enjoyable.

Following The Kingsmen is another band who came to popularity in the 1960's. The Kinks were a British rock band who came to popularity at the height of The British Invasion in the mid 60's. They gained international attention with the release of the single "You Really Got Me." The song is a rock song infused with R&B influences which was The Kinks' signature sound. The band experimented with its sound more and more over the years, moving more towards hard rock. Their move into the edges of the hard rock genre has led some people to call them one of the original punk rock bands. They have several singles that have become so deeply infused into popular culture that they are instantly recognizable to even the most casual music fan. Their songs "All Day And All Of The Night," "Who'll Be The Next In Line," "Tired Of Waiting For You," are all classics that have found their way into all the different parts of our culture. I've been listening to The Kinks since I was young, my Dad was a fan so I became one as well. I really enjoy their music, and I will for the foreseeable future.

The Kinks "You Really Got Me"



Next up we have the first of the final two one and done artists on this playlist, The Klaxons. The Klaxon's are a British indie band who has been classified by some as being part of a small genre called New Rave. Their songs tend to be slightly psychedelic in nature with influences from 90's rave music. The song featured here is a remix of their song "Atlantis To Interzone," done by The Crystal Castles. The original version is an upbeat indie rock song with a high pitched blaring electronics that sounds like an alarm going off. The Crystal Castles mix takes this siren sound that was intermittent before and makes it constant. The siren serves as the backing music to make the mix into the in your face abrasive style of The Crystal Castles. Both versions of the song are good, but both are very different. The mix is more of a electronic almost rave song, while the original is an indie dance rock song with electronics interlaced. I first heard this song when my older brother gave me the song on a mix CD. I liked the remix, and didn't hear the original version until almost a year after. I wasn't hugely fond of the original song at first, but now I like both. I also enjoy The Klaxons' song "Golden Skans." Fans of The Crystal Castles should check out this mix.

The final one and done artist of the K's is The Knack. The Knack rose to fame in 1979 with the release of their debut album Get The Knack, which featured the hit single "My Sharona." The band gained instant fame, with "My Sharona" going to number one on the billboard music charts. The song featured what is probably one of the most recognizable bass and guitar lines in popular rock. The song featured here was the second single off of the album "Good Girls Don't." The band never again released anything that reached anywhere near the success of "My Sharona." I have been listening to "My Sharona" for a long time and I've always really enjoyed it. I hadn't really heard "Good Girls Don't" before listening for this blog, but I like it. It's a good rock and roll song, very pleasant and features a chorus worthy of rock radio. The Knack made some good songs, but I probably won't be going much beyond "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't."

The final three artists on the K's playlist all contribute full albums to the playlist, the first is Korn. Korn is a Nu Metal band based out of California who rose to popularity in 1998 with the release of their third album Follow The Leader. Follow The Leader featured the breakout single "Freak On A Leash," which helped the album go to number one on the Billboard charts. The band plays a toned down brand of hard rock, that is designed to appeal more to the mainstream. The instruments are tuned down a step or more, which makes the sound itself slightly lower in key. The strings are looser on the guitar which helps to accentuate the slapping sound you hear from the bass lines. The songs also draw influences from hip hop, which can be seen in a few of the songs where lead singer Jonathan Davis attempts to rap. I really liked Korn back when I was in middle school, much to my parent's chagrin. Their lyrics tend to be explicit and feature violent themes. I really liked "Freak On A Leash" and convinced my parents to allow me to have a censored version of the album. As I've continued to hear Korn over the years I've liked them less and less. They've just gotten worse over the years, putting more and more effects on Jonathan Davis' vocals. I hadn't really listened to Follow The Leader since High School, and I'm glad. After listening to the album again for this blog, I really don't like it. It's not my style of music anymore, and shows me how much my musical taste has improved since middle school. The songs just don't impress me anymore. Given the option to buy this CD today, I would pass.

Korn "Freak On A Leash"



After an albums worth of regret from listening to Korn, we have the electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk were a band from Dusseldorf, Germany that formed in 1970 and pioneered the sound that has became the basis for modern electronic music. The band's music features simple, repetitive, computerized beats. All instrumentation is electronic, and the vocals were consistently sung through a vocorder or with computer software. The sound was revolutionary when the band debuted back in the 70's. They used the latest musical technology of the time, incorporating a Minimoog synthesizer into their music. The band was named as an influence by many post punk, new wave, and techno artists. I first heard Kraftwerk from my older brother who was a fan. He gave the album featured here, Computer World, to my younger brother and that is where I got it from. I thought their music was interesting, but not much beyond that. Listening to it again for this blog, I can appreciate their music more. I enjoy the simple nature of the music, and all that it has done for the electronic music that has followed in its wake. I recommend Kraftwerk to anyone who enjoys Electronic music and wants to explore its roots.

Kraftwerk " Computer World"



The final artist on the K playlist is the Palm Desert, California band Kyuss. Kyuss was a band that played a style of hard rock that many people call Stoner Rock. The Stoner Rock sound featured metal songs that tended to be more mellow than normal metal songs, and incorporate psychedelic rock, blues rock, with more melodic vocals. Kyuss was a great example of this style of music. The band gained critical acclaim with the album Blues For The Red Sun, the acclaim for the album was one of the first times the Stoner Rock label was applied. The bad experienced turmoil with their record label and then with each other, and this ultimately led to their break up. Guitarist Joshua Homme left the band to form Queens of the Stone Age, taking several members of Kyuss with him. I first heard Kyuss when my older brother gave me this album for my birthday. He knew that I liked Queens of the Stone Age, so he thought I might like Kyuss. I wasn't a fan of their music when I first listened to them. I like them more now than I did then, but I'm still not a big fan. The slow, mellow pace just doesn't work for me and John Garcia 's voice tends to sound a bit too much like "new" James Hetfield for my taste. Their music is enjoyable, but I like Queens of the Stone Age a lot more. Fans of Widespread Panic and similar bands might enjoy Kyuss.

Kyuss "Green Machine"



That will do it for the K's folks. They went by pretty quickly, with only one or two regrets. The K's really helped me to see how much my musical tastes have improved over the years. I hope you enjoyed reading the K's, the L's should be out soon. Please keep commenting, and be sure to "like" Alphabetical Music on Facebook.